I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pinion support for supporting a free end of a pinion when operating in restricted room condition.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Actuator motors with gear boxes are used in many industrial applications, such as an automotive framing system. In an automotive framing system, a motor set on a gear box is rigidly secured to a turret frame. The motor, upon actuation, rotatably drives a pinion which protrudes outwardly from one end of a gear box.
In many applications, such as an automotive framing system, the precise rotational position of the pinion is required for accurate and satisfactory operation of the entire system. In many such applications, however, the pinion is subjected to high torque which may result in slight flexing of the pinion away from the load. Any such flexing not only results in unsatisfactory oscillation of the system, but can also result in inaccurate positioning of the load driven by the motor/gear box, and in some case in shaft breaking by fatigue.
The present invention provides a pinion support which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the previously known devices.
In brief, the pinion support of the present invention comprises a generally cylindrical housing which is rigidly secured to the motor casing in any conventional fashion, such as by bolts. Furthermore, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the housing includes a cylindrical flange which is sandwiched in between a mating cylindrical flange on the motor casing and a portion of the frame associated with the motor/gear box.
The housing further includes a cylindrical portion which extends coaxially around the pinion and has an end plate which overlies the outer or free end of the pinion. This cylindrical portion, furthermore, includes an opening along one side to expose the pinion and provide access between the pinion and its load, i.e. a gear wheel.
A cylindrical pin is rigidly fixed to the end plate and extends coaxially into an axial recess formed on the outer end of the pinion. A bearing assembly is operatively disclosed between the pin and the pinion recess and, preferably, a seal is provided between the pin and pinion recess to protect the bearing assembly from debris.
In operation, the rotational support provided between the pin and the bearing assembly and the outer or free end of the pinion operates to support the pinion and preclude flexing of the pinion relative to the housing and thus relative to the gear box casing. In practice, such support not only eliminates flexing of the pinion during operation and radial load on output bearing, but also prevents oscillation and vibration of the motor which can otherwise occur especially in case of speed or torque closed loop control, with heavy inertia.